The Inland Waterways Association was formed in 1946, but it was not until the 1950 Festival of Boats and Arts, held in Market Harborough, that the campaign to save the inland waterways really became established as a national crusade. The festival is generally thought to be the tipping point of the waterways revival, triggering the mass-participation on a volunteering spirit which is still unique in the world.
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of that event, a festival will be held at Foxton in Leicestershire on Saturday 7 June and Sunday 8 June.
Market Harborough canal basin is no longer suitable to host such events, but it will be visited by a cavalcade of boats on the Saturday. You can find full details of the event on the IWA Harborough 75 website.
The festival is supported by the IWA Leicestershire Branch in partnership with the Canal and River Trust, the Old Union Canal Society, Harborough District Council and Foxton Museum.
You can read more about the 1950 event on the festival website, and there are a couple of posts on this blog that may interest you:
- A journey by water from Oxford to attend the 1950 event;
- A meeting between Robert Aickman and Market Harborough UDC about a second festival in 1952.
The photo at the top shows the boatwoman Sonia Smith, who was to marry her fellow waterways campaigner Tom Rolt, at the 1950 festival. And, yes, the Robert Aickman who met Market Harborough UDC was the writer of ghost stories.
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